hot yoga question

[speaker]

Hi all, new member here.

My boyfriend and I recently started taking hot yoga classes. I'm sure I'll surprise no one by saying that everyone's mat ends up slippery and wet with sweat after only a few poses. We're both using regular towels as a relatively stable mat cover, but I was thinking of getting him one of the yogitoes skidless mats as a gift

Comments

[xsaltyx]

The yogitoes mat is just a different kind of towel that goes over your regular mat. You can buy similar kinds of high-absorbency towels that are not marketed towards yogis specifically for much cheaper online as I understand. Also, these need to be washed each time they're used as with any towel otherwise they will be gross.

In my experience with doing yoga in a heated room, I opted to buy a better quality mat. My Jade Harmony natural rubber mat was absorbant so it soaked up any sweat and didn't allow my mat to get slipery. Also, it did not need to be washed very often and lasted a long, long time!

[speaker]

I've seen the Jade Harmony mats before and considered buying one, but opted for the cheaper one :( My bad. Do they really keep you from sliding, though? I've never used one or even handled one, so I don't know what the material is like, it just seems so counter intuitive that you would be able to retain traction on it even after drenching it in sweat.

[xsaltyx]

They are a little slippery for the first few uses, but after that they are amazing. Light years better than your regular old yoga mat. :) I have owned three and I have never seen a mat that I liked better.

[blowtorch_betty]

I've never tried the skidless mat, but I do use a heavy cotton rug over my mat and LOVE it. People ask about it all the time, I've created several local converts :)

Aside from not slipping ever, it has the added bonus of being able to go in the washer and dryer.

[speaker]

a heavy cotton rug as in ... an actual rug? Like, a house rug? That doesn't sound TOO crazy, but how did you find one that fit your mat properly?

[xsaltyx]

Probably a rug like these:
http://www.barefootyoga.com/Search.bok?category=Mysore+Practice+Rugs

[blowtorch_betty]

Heh, sorry. They're made for yoga, so are mat sized. Mine was made by Prana a few years ago: http://www.prana.com/prodbot.aspx?prodid=111 There are loads of other options out there now though.

They're light enough to carry easily (my mat and rug roll up together and fit into a standard mat bag) yet thick enough to absorb a lot, and stiff enough to not get bunched up or move around like a towel does.

Mine's been though the washer and dryer many many times now and is still fantastic. I can't imagine doing yoga without it anymore.

[extoria]

I got a towel-thing from Gaiam that I like quite a bit, with some exceptions. I use it because my hands and feet sweat a lot and I was slipping in down dog. Didn't want to bash my face!

It was significantly cheaper than $60, tho I can't remember exactly how much. It's very soft and nice, but it's lightweight, meaning that you have to be super careful not to kick it around or it'll bunch up, fall off the mat, etc. But it's very soft and nice, and essentially does the trick. ::shrug::

[mscrimson]

I've been doing hot yoga for two years and recently got a yotitoes towel. I wish I could afford five of them. They're lighter, pack smaller, feel better under my feet and I love that they cover the whole mat (I hate the feeling of the mat on my skin). I do think they absorb sweat better and I find I'm adjusting my towel less.

But, it's kind of a ridiculous price for a towel.

[mscrimson]

Oh, and I found mine on amazon.com for about $40.

[katitious]

Yep, I was just going to say that they're having a super sale on the yogitoes ones on Amazon.com

I actually just ordered one and it's waiting at home.

I did a lot of research on this very topic, and what I've found out through reading tons of reviews...is basically that yogitoes are awesome and one of the best towels on the market. The less expensive ones slip a lot more and bunch up, where yogitoes doesn't seem to cause any problems.

The only problem I've heard of is that it does bleed in the wash, so you have to wash it right away with cold water before use to lock in the color - but even then it still bleeds sometimes. So I just bought a white one. They're the cheapest too, as opposed to the fancier, colored ones.

I'm going to start hot yoga in a few weeks, so I wanted to be prepared, but I also sweat a lot in my regular yoga class and tend to slip sometimes, so I'm excited to try it out this Sunday!